So, You've Got to Pray First? - 02/05/2012

Sermon text:  Mark 1:29-39

As I stated last week, this is the time of year when the lectionary begins to wind us through the early years of Jesus’ ministry and mission, so that when we get to Lent we know what his intent has been and we’re ready to see just how passionate he is about US picking up the mantel of that mission and ministry. 

   So in the first 28 verses of Mark’s gospel, we see Jesus baptized by John the baptizer and filled with the Holy Spirit. We see the calling of his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, and James and John. Then they are off to Capernaum and their first Sabbath there, Jesus went to the synagogue and taught. Mark says the elders were “astounded at his teaching because he taught as one with authority and not as their scribes.” (Mark 1:21-22) There, in the synagogue, Jesus meets a man with an unclean spirit who challenged his authority. He cast the spirit out of the man, leaving the elders and scribes in utter amazement. … Read full sermon here (PDF)

Unclean Spirits or the Holy Spirit? - 01/29/2012

Sermon Text:  Mark 1:21-28

   This is the time of year when the lectionary begins to wind us through the early years of Jesus’ ministry and mission, so that when we get to Lent we know what his intent has been and we’re ready to see just how passionate he is about us picking up the mantel of that mission and ministry. 

   So in the first 20 verses of Mark’s gospel, we see Jesus baptized by John the baptizer and filled with the Holy Spirit. We see the calling of his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, and James and John. And then they are off to Capernaum … and according to Mark, he got off to a quick start. 

   The first Sabbath they were there in Capernaum, he went to the synagogue and taught.  Mark says the elders were “astounded at his teaching because he taught as one with authority and not as their scribes.” (Mark 1:21-22). 

   So far, so good. But then the trouble began. … Read full sermon here (PDF)

Is That You, God, Calling? - 01/22/2012

Sermon text:  Jonah 3:1-5,10

   I don’t know about you, but I find it rather impossible to read the stories of the Bible without seeing myself reflected in them. Can you see yourself in uninvolved Jonah … when Jonah hears:  “Get up, go to Nineveh,” I mean the guy sprints for Joppa … to catch a ship heading in the opposite direction! 

   Jonah’s determination not to get involved still has a lot of appeal among church folks today. Family frictions, an unchurched community, an educational system that seems to be breaking, millions of bellies exploding with the pain of hunger … all Ninevehs. I would love to climb into a boat’s hold, go to sleep, and avoid them all. But God is calling … calling us to care … calling us to make a difference! God is calling you and me to go to Nineveh … into a world where there are no guarantees … a world full of problems.

   Back to Jonah … there was just no escape for him. God had a plan for Jonah’s life, and his going in the opposite direction of that plan made no difference to the Almighty. … Read full sermon here (PDF)

Come and See - 01/15/2012

Sermon text:  John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’   Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.   Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’    Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’   When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’   Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’   Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’   Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’   And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you,^* you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’  … Read full sermon here (PDF)

It's Dark Outside ... And Inside - 01/08/2012

Sermon text:  Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

   “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” This infamous phrase, written by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, is the opening paragraph of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford. [Lytton, Edward Bulwer (1800s). Paul Clifford. New York: Cassell Pub. Co.]

   Often darkness evokes dread … However, sometimes darkness is preferred over and above the bright light of day:  

• Having a candle light dinner in a darkened room has a special appeal and romance.
• Going to see a movie at the theatre only works if the theatre is dark.
• Some people can’t sleep unless the curtains block out all the light and their bedroom is completely dark.

Read full sermon here (PDF)

We Get Another Chance - 01/01/2012

Sermon text:  Luke 13:6-9, Colossians 2:6-7

My mother and I now for years will call each other on New Years Day and say, “Hello, is this 2-0-1-2?” That’s what Grandma Lil would always do with us. She died on New Years Day back in 1977. So mom and I have kept the tradition alive.

   Well, it is 2-0-1-2, but before we talk about the New Year, let me ask you a question: What kind of a year was 2011 for you? Where would you place it on a scale of 1 to 10? … Read full sermon here (PDF)

The Christmas Journey: No Place Like Home - 12/25/2011

Sermon text:  Matthew 2:19-23

We’ve been on a Christmas Journey.

   Four weeks ago we went to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Joseph and Mary traveled the 5-day, 90-mile journey because Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor at that time, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the nation. Bethlehem, the House of Bread, made room for Jesus, the Bread of Life so that we might be fed spiritually.

   We then followed them to Egypt because King Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had disobeyed him. Sending soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered them to kill every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and on the nearby farms. They had fled to Egypt to escape the anger of Herod … a king … who was threatened by a baby who would be King … Jesus. But God allowed them to escape because this baby was already the King of Kings.

   We then followed him to Jerusalem as a child. There in Jerusalem, we saw how he grew in his awareness of the special role that he would play one day in the plan of salvation. There in Jerusalem, he recognized God as his “Father”; he is not only the son of Mary but also God’s Son. There in Jerusalem, the gradual realization that he is Emmanuel … God with us … emerges. There in Jerusalem, he knows that through his life and mission LOVE will become real. Then, 18 years later, just to the East of Jerusalem, at the Jordon River, we see an even greater confirmation of all of this at his baptism by John, when a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)

   And so, we followed Him to Bethlehem, we followed Him to Egypt, we followed Him to Jerusalem, and NOW we follow Jesus to what would become his home … Nazareth. … Read full sermon here (PDF)

A Christmas Journey Bringing Heaven Here - 12/24/2011

Sermon text:  Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2:1-4, Luke 2:15-20

Can you hear it? There’s a buzz in the air. Or maybe you can feel it, enough even to give you goose bumps. As the song, Silver Bells puts it, “In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas.” It permeates everything tonight, doesn’t it? Everything.

   Well, since this is the time of year when nostalgia runs rampant and nobody dares act like Scrooge and complain about it, let’s give in to it for a moment. It won’t hurt a thing. Trust me. … Read full sermon here (PDF)

What Happens in Jerusalem, Stays in Jerusalem! - 12/11/2011

Sermon text:  Isaiah 52:7-10, Matthew 2:16-21, Luke 2:21-35, Luke 2:41-52

As I remember how it happened, I had made the most perfect of ham sandwiches in all the world … a thick slab of ham, a fresh bun, crisp lettuce and plenty of expensive, light brown, gourmet mustard. I was drooling with anticipation of placing that masterpiece into my mouth. I carried it into the living room, positioning it on the TV tray, preparing to watch the big game between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Washington Redskins. I grabbed the thing with two hands, licked my lips, and as I started to place it to my waiting mouth … Karen, suddenly at my side, stopped me and said,

“Here, hold Jeremy (about six weeks old at the time) while I get my sandwich.” I had him balanced between my left elbow and shoulder and was reaching again for the ham sandwich when I noticed a streak of mustard on my fingers. I love mustard. So I licked it off. 

   It was NOT mustard! No man ever put a baby down faster! I sprinted to the bathroom, with my tongue protruding, to brush my teeth and wash out my mouth!

   Oh yes, the Raiders won the Super Bowl that year … 38 to 9.  … Read full sermon here (PDF)

The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me - 12/04/2011

Sermon text:  Matthew 2:7-15

   Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

   Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ … Read full sermon here (PDF)